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My Prayer Box
the Newsletter of My Catholic Tradition
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Something to Think About |
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Assumptions and Inferences |
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The following four sentences are the complete
quote from the handout I got in my statistics
class: |
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"A businessman had just turned off the
lights in the store when a man appeared and
demanded money. The owner opened the cash
register. The contents of the cash register
were scooped up, and the man sped away. A
member of the police force was notified
promptly."
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Now grab a pen and paper and based on the
preceding story, evaluate the following
statements by answering T (if the statement
True), F (if the statement False) and ? (if
the statement not clear) |
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1. |
A man appeared after the
owner had turned off his store lights. |
T |
F |
? |
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2. |
The robber was a man. |
T |
F |
? |
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3. |
The man who appeared did
not demand money. |
T |
F |
? |
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4. |
The man who opened the cash
register was the owner. |
T |
F |
? |
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5. |
The owner scooped up the
contents of the cash register and ran
away. |
T |
F |
? |
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6. |
Someone opened the cash
register. |
T |
F |
? |
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7. |
After the man who demanded
the money scooped up the contents of the
cash register, he ran away. |
T |
F |
? |
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8. |
While the cash register
contained money, the story does not state
how much. |
T |
F |
? |
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9. |
The robber demanded money
from the owner. |
T |
F |
? |
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10. |
The story concerns a series
of events in which only three persons are
referred to: the owner of the store, a man
who demanded money, and member of the
police force. |
T |
F |
? |
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Confused? Can you imagine how the police
investigators feel given disjointed statements
such as these? How many questions did you
answer True? How many False? And how many were
not very clear?
To find out the answer, or what could be
the answers, read the Readings for Pentecost
Sunday and scroll down. |
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The suspense is .... |
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Pentecost
Sunday
May 31, 2009
"Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you
forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you
retain are retained." |
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First Reading From
the
Acts of the Apostles: |
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Acts 2:1-11 |
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When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they
were all in one place together. And suddenly
there came from the sky a noise like a strong
driving wind, and it filled the entire house in
which they were. Then there appeared to them
tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest
on each one of them. And they were all filled with
the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different
tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.
Now there were devout Jews from every nation
under heaven staying in Jerusalem. At this sound,
they gathered in a large crowd, but they were
confused because each one heard them speaking in
his own language.
They were astounded, and in amazement they
asked,
"Are not all these people who are speaking
Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in
his native language? We are Parthians, Medes, and
Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and
Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia,
Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as
well as travelers from Rome, both Jews and
converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we
hear them speaking in our own tongues of the
mighty acts of God." |
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Responsorial From the Book of Psalms:
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Ps 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34 |
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R. (cf. 30) Lord, send out your Spirit, and
renew the face of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
How manifold are your works, O Lord!
the earth is full of your creatures;
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the
face of the earth.
R. Alleluia.
May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD be glad in his works!
Pleasing to him be my theme;
I will be glad in the LORD.
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the
face of the earth.
R. Alleluia.
If you take away their breath, they perish
and return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the
face of the earth.
R. Alleluia. |
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Second Reading from the First Letter of
John |
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1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13 |
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Brothers and sisters:
No one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the
Holy Spirit. There are different kinds of
spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are
different forms of service but the same Lord;
there are different workings but the same God who
produces all of them in everyone. To each
individual the manifestation of the Spirit is
given for some benefit.
As a body is one though it has many parts, and all
the parts of the body, though many, are one body,
so also Christ.For in one Spirit we were all
baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks,
slaves or free persons, and we were all given to
drink of one Spirit. |
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Gal 5:16-25 |
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Brothers and sisters, live by the Spirit and you
will certainly not gratify the desire of the
flesh. For the flesh has desires against the
Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these
are opposed to each other, so that you may not do
what you want. But if you are guided by the
Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works
of the flesh are obvious:
immorality, impurity, lust, idolatry, sorcery,
hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury,
acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions,
occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the
like.
I warn you, as I warned you before, that those
who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of
God.
In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Against such there is no law. Now those who
belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh
with its passions and desires. If we live in the
Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit. |
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Reading From the
Gospel of John:
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Jn 20:19-23 |
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On the evening of that first day of the week, when
the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in
their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you."
When he had said this, he showed them his hands
and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw
the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with
you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
And when he had said this, he breathed on them
and said to them,
"Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive
are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are
retained." |
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Jn 15:26-27; 16:12-15 |
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Jesus said to his disciples:
"When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from
the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from
the Father, he will testify to me. And you also
testify, because you have been with me from the
beginning.
"I have much more to tell you, but you cannot
bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of
truth, he will guide you to all truth.
He will not speak on his own, but he will speak
what he hears, and will declare to you the things
that are coming.
He will glorify me, because he will take from
what is mine and declare it to you.
Everything that the Father has is mine; for
this reason I told you that he will take from what
is mine and declare it to you." |
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Assumptions and Inferences |
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"A businessman had just turned off the
lights in the store when a man appeared and
demanded money. The owner opened the cash
register. The contents of the cash register
were scooped up, and the man sped away. A
member of the police force was notified
promptly."
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Let's go straight down to the quick: there
should only be one True answer, one
False and all others questionable. Here's
why.
Look at Statement #1: A man appeared after
the owner had turned off his store lights. |
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If we answered True, we made an
assumption that the businessman was the
owner of the store.
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Look at Statement #2: The robber was a man. |
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If we answered True we just inferred a
motive without knowing the complete story.
Was the man who demanded money a robber, or
just a fellow whom the owner owed money?
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Look at Statement #3: The man who appeared did
not demand money. |
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Based on the first line in the story, "a
man appeared and demanded money." So this
has to be false. Fine points can also be
made however that "a" man and not "the" man
appeared - but I'll leave that to the
twisted.
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Look at Statement #4: The man who opened the
cash register was the owner. |
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If we answered True read the second line
in the story again. Was the owner a man or
did we just make another assumption?
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Let's skip to Statement #6: Someone opened the
cash register. |
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Now that's a winner. The only true
statement - just look at the third line in
the story.
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Are you seeing a pattern? |
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So what's the point of all these? Our minds
will always play tricks on us. If we are given
two statements, two points, etc., our mind
will always try to establish a connection
between the two, no matter how remote the
possibility is. Our minds are just made that
way.
Normal as this may seem, our job as good
Catholics, or good human beings really, is to
decide if what we just made as a conclusion is
an assumption or is it based on fact. As long
as we are clear about the source of our bias
(and believe it or not these are biases) then
we can choose act or not to act on those
assumptions.
However, one thing we all have to watch out
for is to infer motive to those assumptions.
That is dangerous.
Look at the first line in the story again.
Surely someone demanded money. However, that
does not make him a robber. |
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References |
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Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life
by
Charles J. Chaput
(Author)
“At a time
when the ‘faith and values’ vote has never
been more important, Archbishop Charles Chaput
deftly explores the intersection of morality,
reason, and politics. |
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This isn’t
just a book for Catholics, but for anyone who
cares about the state of America’s soul —and
how that concern might shape the 2008
elections.”
—John
L. Allen Jr., NCR and CNN senior Vatican
correspondent,
Amazon |
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Happiness Is a Serious
Problem: A Human Nature Repair Manual
by Dennis Prager.
In this unique blend of self-help and moral
philosophy, talk-radio host Dennis Prager
asserts that we're actually obligated to be
happy, because it makes us better people.
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Praying With Frederic Ozanam (Companions for the Journey Series)
- Paperback, by Ronald Cm Ramson (Author) |
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Praying With Louise De Marillac (Companions for the Journey Series)
by Audrey Gibson (Author), Kieran Kneaves
(Author) |
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Praying with Vincent de Paul (Companions for the
Journey)
2004, by Thomas McKenna
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The Rise of Christianity: How the Obscure, Marginal, Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force ....
(Paperback)
by
Rodney Stark (Author)
From the Publisher |
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"... this account of Christianity's remarkable
growth within the Roman Empire is already the
subject of much fanfare. "Anyone who
has puzzled over Christianity's rise to
dominance... must read it," ...
Read
the first page. |
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Living Liturgy: Spirituality, Celebration, and Catechesis for Sundays and Solemnities - Year B - 2009
by C.PP.S. Joyce Ann
Zimmerman (Author), Thomas A. Greisen (Author),
S.N.D. de N. Kathleen Harmon (Author), M.S.
Thomas L. Leclerc (Author) |
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"Perfect for home use or to prepare for weekly
liturgy . . . It includes help for the
celebration, ideas for catechesis on the
particular event, and ways to understand the
readings more deeply. Finally, it includes
sample questions from which priests, deacons,
lay groups, ministers and others can jump off
into deeper discussion." |
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Straight Answers, Answers to 100 Questions about
the Catholic Faith
by Ph.D Rev. William P.
Saunders (Author)
Review by:
Reverend William G. Curlin Bishop of Charlotte
Straight Answers offers Catholics a simple and
direct response |
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to the many questions
concerning the Catholic Church. It spells out
profound truths in very simple language for all
who seek a better understanding of their Faith.
I highly recommend it for Catholics, both young
and old. |
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The Power of Intention: Learning to Co-create Your World Your Way
From Amazon: |
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After years of spiritual study and reflection,
inspirational speaker and bestselling
author Wayne Dyer has emerged a highly esteemed
teacher. His current message about tapping into
the power of intention may sound like good old
positive thinking: just stay focused on what you
want, rather than focusing on the lack of having
what you want. But the teaching here goes deeper
than just controlling thoughts (although he does
acknowledge that thought control is a
surprisingly challenging and significant
endeavor).
This book might
help readers land a better job, but it's more
relevant for those who are ready to detach from
an ego-driven life filled with quick fixes of
happiness and step into a more authentic,
joyful, and spiritually fulfilling life. His
core teachings speak to tapping into a universal
source of energy that can also be called the
"power of intention." |
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The Chariot of Israel: Exploits of the Prophet of Elijah
THE CHARIOT OF ISRAEL: When Elijah was caught up
to heaven, his disciple Elisha cried out, "the
chariot of Israel, and its horsemen." Elisha was
referring not to the chariot but to the prophet.
This study of Elijah’s life will captivate you
as |
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it walks you through a
pivotal period in Israel’s history, and
illustrative maps will give you a better
picture of the physical geography of this
ancient land. |
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The First Book of Kings (Cambridge Bible Commentaries on the Old Testament) This
volume of commentary on the New English Bible text of the First Book of Kings
follows the pattern of the now well-established series on the Old and New
Testaments. The main divisions of the text are those provided |
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by the New English Bible
itself, but these are further subdivided for the
purposes of the commentary, which is printed in
short sections following the relevant portion of
the text.
Canon Robinson suggests that the editors of I
Kings compiled their history in order to teach
the Hebrews that their existence as Israel, the
covenant people of God, depended upon their
continuing loyalty to their own religious
traditions, and their refusal to exchange them
for the very different traditions of the
Canaanites among whom they lived.
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I & II Samuel: A Commentary (Old Testament Library)
First sentence in
the book:
""THE BOOKS OF SAMUEL contain that
part of the history of Israel which describes
the foundation of the State, running from the
close of the period of the Judges to the
establishment of the united kingdom." |
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Read more about the Liturgical Year |
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The Origins of the Liturgical Year (Pueblo
Books)
by
Thomas J. Talley
(Author) The Rev. Dr.
Thomas J. Talley, Professor of Liturgics
at the General Theological Seminary in New
York, is one of the leading liturgists in
the country. He gives us a fresh
examination of the complex history of the
Liturgical Year. |
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The Cultural World of Jesus: Sunday by Sunday, Cycle C. (Bestseller! the Cultural World of Jesus: Sunday by Sunday)
by
John J. Pilch (Author)
Reader
Review: The book by Pilch provides those
who not only fill the pulpits across this
country but also all interested in the |
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cultural world in which Jesus lived with a lot
of pertinent information that sheds light on a
lot of areas that have been "muddled" in the
past. Yes, I highly recommend this book. -
James Mauldin |
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Learn more and read the Old Testament. |
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Preaching from the Old Testament
by Elizabeth Achtemeier (Author) Reader
Review: The author of these
thirty-two short chapters begins and ends
with the assumption that problems we
experience with the Old Testament are our
problem, not the Bible's. This
subordinating of the Bible reader to the
well-weathered book he holds in his hand
opens doors, not to forced
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harmonisations
of problematic passages, but to fresh
reappraisal of difficult texts on their
own terms. -
David A. Baer |
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The Navarre Bible: Pentateuch (The Navarre Bible: Old Testament)
This volume helps you make the first five
books of the Old Testament a vital part of
your spiritual reading and practical
growth in the Christian life. It contains
the full English and Latin texts of these
books, along with extensive and
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faithfully Catholic
commentaries. Like other volumes in the
world-renowned Navarre Bible series, these
commentaries draw on Church documents, the
exegesis of Fathers and Doctors of the Church, and the works of contemporary
spiritual writers — particularly St. Josemaría
Escrivá, who initiated the Navarre Bible
project. |
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Comments and
Suggestions are Most Welcome.
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use the form in this link.
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Comments and Suggestions are Most Welcome.
If you have any comments or contributions,
please
use the form in this link.
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